In a first for the events in Montana, Startup Weekend Bozeman 2015 will include access to Arduino’s and Raspberry Pi’s for all attendees. These devices can be used to build physical electronic products quickly and cheaply. There will be a multitude of sensors available and experts on hand to help teams that use them. We will also have access to 3D Printing.

Startup Weekend Bozeman kicks-off with a keynote address from Startup Weekend Bozeman 2014 alum Doug Warner. Doug is the Founder and CEO of DropTrip a startup reimagining the crowdsourced shipping industry. A cloud technology veteran, Doug has an extensive background in computer science and psychology. He started as one of the original employees at RightNow Technologies and throughout his 13 year tenure was the driving force behind the RightNow Knowledge Foundation, RightNow’s industry leading core technology. Doug left RightNow shortly after Oracle’s $1.5b acquisition and has subsequently built multiple businesses including DropTrip. In his limited free time, Doug is also an accomplished expedition caver.

Alongside members from the local tech and entrepreneur communities, Startup Weekend Bozeman will welcome students from Montana University System’s Blackstone LaunchPad’s at Montana State University. The Blackstone Charitable Foundation knows that entrepreneurship is the single most effective way to spur economic growth and job creation. Through the Blackstone LaunchPad, students will have access to an expanded universe of resources and years of institutional knowledge, helping them launch ventures that can take root locally and strengthen Montana’s economy.

Startup Weekend Bozeman is also excited to announce that the facilitator for the weekend is Buzz Bruggeman. Buzz Bruggeman is one of the co-founders of ActiveWords. He graduated with honors from Coe College and from Duke University Law School. Prior to ActiveWords he spent 30 years as real estate lawyer/litigator. He runs all of the outward facing aspects of ActiveWords, including marketing and partnering, and as such is responsible for evangelizing ActiveWords to everyone he meets. Buzz has spoken at many tech industry events, has been on the advisory board of the Demo Conference, won a Demo god award, and has been featured in books by Dan Gillmor and Robert Scoble. Buzz has been a long time participant in the startup and blogging community, and routinely speaks and consults on using new media tools to market and evangelize software.

Why attend a Startup Weekend event?

Education — learn by doing.

Build your network — meet talented entrepreneurs.

Find cofounder(s)

Learn a new skill — flex your technical and business muscle.

Get facetime with thought leaders — local leaders on tap.

Join a global community ­of over 45,000+ alumni out to change the world.

How is it done?

Beginning with open mic pitches on Friday, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies and building a minimal viable product. On Sunday evening teams demo their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts. Over 36% of Startup Weekend startups are still going strong after 3 months. Roughly 80% of participants plan on continuing working with their team or startup after the weekend. (Statistics from http://startupweekend.org/about/)

When and where is it?

The general hours of the event are Friday, April 17, 6:30 to 10:00 p.m.; Saturday, April 18, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and Sunday, April 19, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. It will be held at the new Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship building at Montana State University.

How can I sign up?

Interested parties can click on the “Buy Tickets” buttons on the event page to sign up. Student tickets are offered at a discounted price and are limited. Contact event organizers for the student discount code. Registration includes all meals and caffeine. Attendees will also receive a custom team t-shirt and exclusive Startup Weekend perks.

ABOUT STARTUP WEEKEND:

Startup Weekend is a program of UP Global along with Startup Next, Startup Digest and Education Entrepreneurs. UP Global is a nonprofit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship, grassroots leadership, and strong communities around the world and in partnership with over 60 leaders and corporations including Google for Entrepreneurs, CocaCola, Amazon Web Services and the Case Foundation. Read UP Global’s White Paper on, ” Fostering A Thriving Startup Ecosystem”